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Main Story
- Zephyr's death hits the cast hard, especially Law. It's especially tragic as he was spared from his public execution, rescued, and about to be put into the Silver Sword's safehouse... only for Ganabelt to stab Zephyr in the back with a knife laced with a poison resistant to healing artes, which ensures that Zephyr's death is both inevitable and slow. That the cast manages to take him back and Zephyr expires on the meeting table, in his final moments unable to recognize/see his son, Law, is next to him, and expired trying to take his hand, is a special layer of awfulness.
- After killing Lord Ganabelt, the city is freed, and everyone is celebrating as their friends and family come back from the floodlights. Except for one little girl, who asks her sister when their mom is coming back. The older sister dodging the question makes it clear she was worked to death.
- Kisara seeing her own brother being Hollowed right in front of her, followed by Dohalim's confession that while he may have at one time believed in them, he never intended to live out the ideals of Dahnan liberation that he championed. Kisara's rage and sorrow are masterfully executed both through her facial expressions, and her VA's acting. You really believe her when she starts screaming that she's going to tear Dohalim apart and Alphen has to hold her back - Kisara may not even realize that Dohalim, in the midst of his guilt complex, wants her to kill him and may well be wording the truth in a way he knows will enrage her.
- If you hang around Niez the day before Dedyme carries out Almeidrea's execution, you can spot a Dark Wings member inviting three children to come with him to the feast being held on that same day... which, unknown to everyone, came from food supplies retrieved from Almeidrea that she secretly laced with the Fruit of Helgan. The excited children accept the offer, innocently unaware of what's in store for them. All three, along with their escort, are among the many casualties on that terrible day.
- Shionne's reaction to Alphen being hurt by her curse after he loses his pain immunity. She's spent her entire life being ostracized by other Renans and treated as a lab rat due to those Thorns. Alphen is the first person she's ever met that was unaffected by it and treats her with respect and care, with their other friends soon to follow. Over time she slowly bonds with him despite their rough start, with hints of a blooming romance between them both. However, all her hopes are quickly dashed when Shionne sees Alphen reel back in the pain the moment they make contact, when all he was trying to do was pull her away from Vholran's grasp. The look of utter despair in her eyes is simply heartbreaking, as she basically shuts down in grief and does nothing to stop herself from being taken.
- Later, right before the party rescue her, she was completely unresponsive to them, keep muttering to herself with "Alone", "It's so dark", "Please save me".
- After being rescued, Shionne admits that seeing Alphen recoil from her in pain brought back childhood memories of the lab, where Shionne, not yet understanding the thorns, would seek out physical affection only for everyone to recoil from her in terror.
- A main quest involves Alphen having to inform a mother of the death of her son, mere weeks after being liberated from the grip of their Renan lord. Sad enough is the lack of reaction that she gives - so Conditioned to Accept Horror were the citizens of Ganeth Haros that the news barely registers. But at the burial site, Dohalim sincerely suggests that a Renan-style funeral rite would be more respectful, disturbed at the idea of burning the body of a loved one, and Rinwell loses it due to how such funerals have been all most Dahans have been able to do ever since the Renans invaded (with the implication she had to personally burn the bodies of her parents and clan).
- Just before blasting off to Lenegis on Alphen's old spaceship, Alphen notices that Shionne isn't resting, and goes to find her. Upon doing so, Shionne threatens to shoot Alphen if he doesn't back off - though shocked, he quickly realizes she's trying to go off on her own, and he refuses to let her, even point-blank telling her to do it. She's unable to and breaks down in tears... and then admits to them all that she's been a Death Seeker all along, wanting to destroy her Thorns and herself with them to prevent the End of the World as We Know It. Or that was the plan; after being with this party, people who've stuck by her and called her their friend, she doesn't want to die and lose what she has, but she also doesn't want to have them sacrifice themselves to save her. Her last line before Alphen pulls her into an You Are Not Alone hug hits particularly hard:(in anguish) I wish we'd never met! Then I wouldn't have to feel this way!
Beyond the Dawn
- The DLC shows the new world a year after the cast's adventures. Despite the hopeful and upbeat tone the main game ended on, it's made abundantly clear that relations between the Dahnans and Renans are still tense and bitter. While some have made peace, there's still three hundred years worth of pent-up resentment and prejudice between the two groups, with Renans refusing to "lower themselves" and the Dahnans outright refusing to co-exist with them. Worse still is how this rift affects Alphen and newcomer Nazamil:
- While Alphen's since become The Paragon to the people of Dahna, the Renans are downright terrified of him and believe he went out of his way to ruin their way of life. Anyone who knows Alphen knows damn well he spent the second half of the game trying to help Renans. The clashing views distresses Alphen greatly despite the party doing their best to cheer him up, though what's even more wrenching of how lukewarm his efforts seemingly are is how a Dahnan openly questions why Shionne, a Renan, is with him. Worse still, those who see Alphen as a hero don't see him as a person (mainly unintentionally, yet still), which understandably wears heavily upon him.
- Even before the world merger, Nazamil would have been all but guaranteed to have been treated like absolute crap for one sole reason: She was born between a Renan and Dahnan. One side considers her "tainted" for her Dahnan blood and the other side despises her for her Renan blood. Her introduction to the party even has being driven out of a nearby village because of her half-blood status. Needless to say, Nazamil's life has been nothing short of painful, and the growing tensions between Dahnans and Renans are not helping.
